The Australian sharemarket edged higher on Wednesday as a sharp rally in property stocks helped to offset losses in the mining giants ahead of US President Donald Trump’s highly anticipated tariff announcements.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index edged up 0.1 per cent, or by 9.3 points, to 7934.5 at the closing bell, with six out of the 11 sectors finishing in the green. The All Ordinaries rose 0.1 per cent.

While the gains tracked buying on Wall Street overnight and extended Tuesday’s 1 per cent rally, trading was subdued ahead of the coming reciprocal tariffs that have been dubbed by Trump as “liberation day”. The White House said levies would take immediate effect on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT).

“There was selling in resources, but overall, investors are having a wait-and-see sort of approach with liberation day coming up,” TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark said.

Even so, the real estate sector was the best performing, climbing 1.6 per cent as traders ramped up bets that central banks including the US Federal Reserve may be forced to cut rates further should tariffs damage economic growth. Goodman Group added 3.2 per cent to $30.12, Stockland rose 0.6 per cent to $5.04, and Charter Hall increased 3.2 per cent to $17.32.

Rate-sensitive technology stocks also climbed, tracking a rally on the Nasdaq. NextDC climbed 3 per cent to $11.80. WiseTech rose 1.1 per cent to $83.99 and TechnologyOne added 0.7 per cent to $28.71.

Meanwhile, the heavyweight materials sector recorded the biggest losses amid fears for global growth. BHP dropped 1.5 per cent to $38.32, Fortescue lost 1.6 per cent to $15.40 and Rio Tinto declined 1.7 per cent to $115.08. Energy stocks were also in the red, with Woodside Energy dropping 1.5 per cent to $23.15.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, bus and ferry operator Kelsian rallied 4.3 per cent to $2.68 after it said it was looking to sell its tourism business to help reduce debt. The portfolio generated over $160 million in revenue in the 2024 financial year.

Mineral Resources founder and managing director Chris Ellison has been served with a class action filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria, which the firm said it would “strongly defend”. The shares lost 2.3 per cent to $23.23 amid the broader decline in mining stocks.

Winemaker Treasury Wine Estates has appointed former Orora chief executive Nigel Garrard to its board. The shares still dropped 5.4 per cent to $9.10 after Citi downgraded the stock to a “neutral” rating.

And Star Entertainment failed to secure a $750 million lifeline from Salter Brothers, putting the casino group at risk of administration for the third time this year. The company and its bankers have now shifted their focus to US gambling giant Bally’s Corporation as a potential rescuer. The shares remain in a trading halt.